At the recent Silver Gelatin conference held at the New York Public Library, Alison Rossiter was one of the artists that presented. Her work was of particular interest because she uses rare samples of old expired photographic paper with which to create luscious abstracts by exposing the paper and emulsions in unique ways.

Her work was recently exhibited at Yossi Milo Gallery:

Alison Rossiter’s photographs are created without a camera on expired, vintage photo paper. The artist experiments with gelatin silver papers she collects from throughout the 20th century, making controlled marks by pouring or pooling photographic developer directly onto the surface of the paper. Dark forms emerge which often resemble mountainous landscapes or active tornados; other shapes are paired by the artist to create minimalist diptychs.

Each batch of gelatin silver paper, such as Eastman Royal Bromide, which expired in 1919, or Nepera- Velox, which expired in 1906, possesses unique qualities, depending on its particular color, surface, condition and age. Utilizing her experience in conserving photographs, Ms. Rossiter reacts to these variables and manipulates the interaction of paper and developer by hand, paying tribute to the intrinsic qualities of photographic materials and reintroducing unpredictability into a process which is now commonly digitized.

She has used an “outside the box” approach to photography and art that strips down the roles of Light and Image.

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